


Green Mist

by Tarlan



Category: Adventure Inc.
Genre: Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Community: smallfandomfest, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-05-27
Updated: 2015-05-27
Packaged: 2018-04-01 14:13:57
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,066
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4022902
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Tarlan/pseuds/Tarlan
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Caught in the green mist of the Mayan temple, Stefan sees his past and wishes he could recover those lost, dark years.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Green Mist

**Author's Note:**

> Meets multiple challenges:  
>  **hc_Bingo** : May 2015 Round 5 - Small Fandoms  
>  **mmom** 2015: Day 27  
>  **smallfandomfest** Round 17

The world slowly fell away, shrouded by the green mist billowing from beneath the Mayan jade altar, and all Stefan could feel was a coldness in his heavy limbs contrasting sharply with the warmth of Judson's arms holding his dying body.

He'd seen his past through Judson's eyes. He'd seen how his petty jealousy and resentment had driven a wedge between him and Judson, driving them to opposite sides of the same coin, where he became a mercenary while Judson remained an altruistic adventurer. Yet those arms reminded him of good times, of how he would lie in their shared quarters, rocking into his own fist with the same rhythm as the ocean moving beneath the deck of the _Vast Explorer_ , teasing Judson with a smile that said, 'You can look but can't touch... yet'.

Judson would watch him, all that intensity focused solely on him, on his moving hand, and on the promise of sharing all that passion with him.

"Wasn't all bad," Stefan murmured softly, wondering if Judson could still hear him, and if he remembered those early days when the sun always seemed to shine, and the ocean was as blue as the cloudless sky above them.

The green mist swirled around him now, and he could no longer see the pain and grief etched on Judson's handsome face. As Judson faded from view, so did the warmth of his arms and body holding Stefan close. 

"I'm sorry," he wanted to say but his lips felt cold and stiff.

Sorry for all the pain he had caused, sorry for the loss of an amazing friendship - and partnership - and all because he'd become jealous of that special gift Judson possessed for finding hidden treasure; for Judson becoming famous while Stefan became lost, hidden in his shadow. If he could take it all back, he would. He would ask for those lost years; years where he had moved from continent to continent, sailing the seas, and delving into mysteries - always alone, always knowing he was missing some vital piece of his soul.

He recalled bitter years filled with anger, while he heaped all the blame on Judson's shoulders instead of acknowledging his own sins.

The past had caught up with him in this ancient temple, and he deserved to die as he had lived these past years - lost and alone.

The green mist had blanked out all of the world now, leaving him trapped in a never ending void, and all that remained was the heat of his own tears trickling down his face as he wept for all the love and joy he had thrown away through his resentment. Time ceased to exist with past, present and future merging into one.

"Stefan!"

In the distance he could hear someone calling his name, over and over, the voice growing louder with each passing moment; familiar and loved.

He saw the green mist receding, drawing back smoothly, and the warmth returned to his body. His heavy limbs began to lighten, the pain of the green energy that had crackled through him easing away. He felt warmth beneath his head and watched in awe as Judson's face swam back into focus. Green eyes were locked on his, full of love and concern.

"Stefan!"

"Judson?" he coughed, his throat dry and voice cracked.

"Stefan." He saw Judson's eyes flutter closed with relief. "I thought..." Judson bowed his head over Stefan, touching their foreheads in a gesture that had not faded in its intimacy over the years. "I thought I'd lost you."

The green mist was almost gone, just a haze still hanging in the air around them, and Stefan looked beyond Judson expecting to see the jade altar. Instead it was a another temple on a different continent. He could feel the dryness of the desert air rather than the humidity of the South American jungle. It took a moment longer before he recognized the hieroglyphs carved in stone and determined they were not Mayan but Egyptian in origin. With recognition came returning memory as time seemed to fold back on itself.

"What happened?" he croaked, eagerly accepting the sip of water against his parched lips.

"You accidentally triggered the curse," Judson laughed softly. "From what I could figure out it was some sort of dream state, or some place between worlds. You were trapped, neither in this world or the other."

By now Stefan was feeling more aware of his surroundings. Judson helped him sit up, propping his back against the cool stone wall, and the light from a torch illuminated Judson's face, revealing smudges of dirt and blood.

"What happened?" He reached out, fingers falling short of the jagged gash.

Judson laughed softly, reaching up to touch the cut on his temple.

"The only clue I could find... mentioned a hidden chamber further in." He smiled wryly. "I found it, and inside an inscription telling me how to get you back, but the whole thing collapsed on my way out, but not before I found this."

He grinned, holding up a heavy golden statue of Anubis with its jackal face made of black onyx and eyes of uncut rubies, but his smile faltered.

"Lucky I guess," he shrugged with one shoulder, and Stefan recalled his own bitter retort to such luck only days earlier.

Memories of lost years in another reality came back to him, of time wasted in bitter resentment, and all the regrets that followed when he realized too late what he had thrown away. In the void he had begged for another chance, to make it right, and his prayer had been answered.

"No. I'm the lucky one, because I found you."

Judson tilted his head slightly, a little bemused, but the smile was slowly returning, tension easing from him when he read the truth of Stefan's words in his eyes. Stefan reached out and guided Judson to him, kissing his lips softly. In this reality they'd kissed only a few hours earlier on-board the _Vast Explorer_ , but in another reality it had been a lifetime ago.

Stefan had seen the bleakness of that future and he knew what he would choose instead. This man beside him, in all ways.

"Let's go home," he stated softly, and Judson laughed happily and he stood up and offered Stefan his hand.

Stefan grasped hold tight, determined to never let go of this man again.

END  
.


End file.
